Parrot Behavior: Sex and the Psittacine

Shari Beaudoin, IAABC Certified, Parrot Behavior Consultant

"My bird loves me…but hates my husband."

"She is so cute she loves to snuggle with me and will lay there for hours while I pet her."

"Her favorite thing is to sneak under the pillows or the blanket, then she comes out to show me all of her pretty feathers and actually tries to feed (regurgitate to) me. Then she backs up under the pillow again clucking at me. It is so cute!"

"He loves to play on top of his cage and 'patrol' the area. He gets so intense that if we try to take him down from the top of the cage he will bite us."

"Our bird loves her little snuggle hut. We could never take it away from her."

"She has always loved us, but one day out of nowhere, she became such a mean bird. I don't know how much longer we can take this!" And the list goes on…

These are frequent comments that those of us working with people and their parrots hear almost every day. It is critical that we help parrot caregivers gain a better understanding of their bird's behaviors and most importantly, their part in them. One of the most important things to understand is that parrots are not domesticated, instead exhibiting all of the natural and instinctual behaviors of their wild counterparts.

It is likely that parrots perceive our interactions with them very differently from what we wish. Birds interact with each other visually, verbally, and empathically. This makes it imperative that we take on a consistent leadership role that will gently guide our birds to adapt to lives in our homes. Parrots do not know how to live in our homes and it is our job to teach them how.

The two main questions we must ask ourselves as companion parrot caregivers are as follows:

  1. What do our companion parrots seem to perceive to be happening during our interactions with them?
  2. What do we perceive to be happening during these same interactions?

Often these are two completely different things.

We need to pay close attention to how we interact with our companion parrots. We need to try to understand how they are affected by our interactions with them both medically and behaviorally. How do we try to understand our parrot's perceptions? One of the best ways is to observe wild birds. Whether you are lucky enough to watch parrots in their wild environment or spend time watching native birds in your own back yard, you will find that their behaviors play a major role in helping them survive in the wild. With that said, I would like to break down the above comments to find the natural and instinctual reasoning behind them.

"My bird loves me but hates my husband."

It is unlikely from what we have learned about the parrot's brain that your bird "loves or hates" either of you, at least not in the same sense that people love or hate each other. It does make perfect sense, however, that a companion parrot would choose someone in the household as a potential mate. Once a bird has identified a mate, any others making advances towards them or their mate would be perceived as an intruder. To be successful in the wild, the parrot's job would involve driving the intruder from its territory. This is accomplished through posturing, color display, and vocalizing. In most cases, the perceived intruder will leave and the dispute would be settled. Occasionally, the first bird may be the one driven off by the newcomer. Either way, it is apparently extremely rare for any actual physical contact (like biting injuries) to take place during the confrontation.

When a companion parrot perceives someone in the household as a mate, it is often geared towards driving other family members (perceived intruders) away - especially when its perceived mate is present. It must be very confusing for a parrot when perceived intruders do not take this blatant hint to leave. So as far as the parrot is concerned, the situation is not settled and its attempts to drive off the perceived intruder may be regularly repeated. These futile efforts may lead to frustration and desperation for the bird. In the home, as in the wild, the bird will posture, show colors, vocalize (scream repeatedly) and now may even bite. This may even cause the bird to bite its perceived mate in an attempt to get his/her assistance. The bite can be severe if the perceived mate is interacting with the perceived intruder rather than helping to defend the territory.

I would like to offer a description of the positive relationship that my Double Yellow Headed Amazon, Lt. Columbo, has with my husband Terry and me. Columbo has been my companion parrot since he was a few weeks old and I am his favorite person. Columbo is now 9 years old. I am sure that many of you have heard the myth that all male Amazons 5 years and older are unmanageable. Many breeders and veterinarians still commonly recommend that these birds need to be put into a breeding program when they reach that age, as they are no longer suitable as companions.

Lt. Columbo has at times clearly perceived Terry as an obstacle in his path to forming a reproductive bond with me, yet he has always viewed Terry as a flock leader as well. Several times a year, Columbo, while on his play tree, will wait for Terry to walk by. Just as Terry passes by, Columbo will go into full display with outstretched wings and a fully flared tail and lunge at Terry ... without actually touching him. He never does this face-to-face, always waiting instead until Terry is not looking. Then he will then check to be sure that I have seen him do this. It appears that he thinks that he has shown the competition that he is the boss. He is also showing his prospective mate (me) his ability to defend the territory and drive off the perceived competition.

When Columbo does this, I do my best to ignore it. When Terry notices, he will either ignore it or he will talk to Columbo calmly for a minute, and ask him to do some of his tricks (like hanging by one foot). Terry will regularly take Columbo to another room (away from me), and spend time with him. Some of this time is just spent with Columbo in the room while Terry works on his computer, watches television, or reads, every once in a while looking up and acknowledging Columbo. The rest of the time is spent teaching him things. This time involves a great deal of praise and positive attention. Terry has these types of interactions with Columbo throughout the year, not just when Columbo is exhibiting reproductive hormonal behaviors. Although Terry wants to be perceived as a leader, he also wants to remain Columbo's flock mate and friend.

"She is so cute she loves to snuggle with me and lays there for hours while I pet her."

Cuddling and snuggling can be the cause of many problems for companion parrots, but this can be very difficult for many people to accept. We have spent a lifetime hugging our children and others that we hold dear. We have always stroked and petted our dogs and cats. So how could it possibly be a problem to interact this way with our companion parrots? Shouldn't they receive the same care and attention as the others we cherish? Again, we need to take a look from what is likely our parrot's point of view. Take another moment to observe the birds outside. What do you see? Unless they are mating, you will not see birds - even a mated pair -stroking each other. Indeed, a touch on the back generally implies courtship, leading to mating and rearing young.

Many people are unaware of how parrots mate, so I would like to give a quick (non x-rated) explanation, and maybe this will help clarify what certain types of touch can imply to a parrot. When parrots mate there are generally either of two methods employed:

  1. The male bird climbs onto the back of the female and wraps his tail around the female's tail to initiate contact and a rubbing together of their vents.
  2. Larger species (like some macaws) will stand next to each other and the male will wrap his wing over the hen's back and they will each tilt their vents towards each other initiating contact and a rubbing together of their vents.

From these explanations, it is easy to see how our birds might get the wrong idea while we are "petting" them! In a more extreme situation we often hear about is what we call full body stroking. Owners describe how much their bird enjoys it when they stroke them down the back and then continue on to wrap their fingers around the birds tail in order to continue the petting all the way down. This type of full body stroking often accidentally involves direct contact with the vent area, as well as the back of the bird. After the above description of bird mating behavior, I am sure you can see how this full body stroking might give a companion parrot certain ideas!

Truthfully, about the only other time that a bird in the wild would feel touch on its back would be from a predator coming down upon them. Sally Blanchard has taught us for years about our need to nurture and guide our companion parrots. Nurturing must be carried out in an instructional manner with the caregiver taking a leadership role. I also refer to this form of nurturing as "Guided Leadership". It is very important for parrots to view us as effective, confident, highly seasoned flock leaders that will keep them safe and teach them how to survive in our homes and to become well adjusted, independent, secure birds. If our parrots view our touch and attentions to be sexually stimulating rather than instructional, it is we who are giving them the idea that we want to be looked upon by them as a mate.

I am not telling you that you can never touch your parrot. Instead, you must pay close attention to where and how you are touching your parrot and most importantly, what your parrot perceives your touch implies. If your parrot seems to perceive your touch as sexual, STOP that form of touch!

"Her favorite thing is to sneak under the pillows or the blanket, then she comes out to show me all of her pretty feathers and actually tries to feed (regurgitate to) me. Then she backs up under the pillow again clucking at me. It is so cute!"

This is serious business for your parrot and not in the slightest bit cute! This bird is in sexual overload, a condition that could trigger her into a constant reproductive state potentially leading to Hormone Toxicosis. Avian veterinarians have concluded from ongoing studies that this state of constant reproductivity is very harmful to these parrots. Some of the other health problems seen in these types of birds can be feather destruction that is caused by an inflamed reproductive system, extremely high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, and heart disease.

It is much better for parrots to play in an area that the bird doesn't perceive as a potential nest site. This behavior in the wild would be geared toward her mate to indicate approval of the possible nest. A female bird will back up and cluck or pant in a mating display indicating breeding readiness to her mate. She may also raise her tail feathers or avert them to the side for mating. Regurgitation is used primarily to strengthen the bond with a mate or to feed offspring. These behaviors are almost exclusively used for purposes of courtship and reproduction. They have absolutely no place in our relationships with our parrots.

For many years, we have heard of people saying that when a parrot exhibits reproductive behaviors, it is best to allow them to follow their hormonal reproductive drives to as natural a conclusion in captivity. These same people would state that to do otherwise is to deny the bird's ability to be a self-actualized parrot. How would they suggest aiding these birds in doing this? We have actually spoken to people who allow their birds to masturbate on them, convinced that this is the best way to fulfill their parrot's needs. In all of the years of numerous people attempting these methods, we have yet to hear of one situation that did not lead to behavioral problems due to the bird developing a strong sexual bond to the caregiver. In a number of cases, severe medical problems occurred as well, because these bird's bodies remain in a constant state of reproductive hormonal inflammation. One common medical problem that can result from this type of interaction is chronic egg laying, which can quickly become life threatening.

Other repetitive reproductive illnesses contribute to many of the major health problems and untimely deaths of companion parrots today. I believe that any caring parrot owner would never intentionally harm their parrot. So, it is critical for us to gain a better understanding of how our actions affect our birds, and to learn how to properly interact with them in a manner that is healthier and more natural for them.

An example might be useful in understanding some of the affects of excessive reproductivity and stimulation, as well as some ways Terry and I have found to prevent it. Sam is our 14-year-old female Double yellow-headed Amazon and, like all of our birds, she spends many of her days with us at our bird supply store, Parrot Island. When she was 4-5 years old, distinct changes began to show in her behavior. She gradually began to play less with her toys and instead seemed very interested in direct physical contact - with my husband Terry or especially with any blonde-haired woman who came in the store. Most days, she would spend a lot of her time simply waiting for the next female customer (hopefully blonde) to come into the store. Immediately upon seeing a woman, her entire demeanor would change. She would become very active, climbing about, and talking, cooing, meowing and doing anything she possibly could to get their attention. Of course, most people would go right over to her upon hearing and seeing her reaction to them. What more could Sam want? She displayed, and potential mates flocked to her!

We have always believed in weighing our birds regularly, and Terry realized that when Sam would go into these broody periods, with no changes to her basic diet, she would gain 60 grams in about 2 weeks! As it turns out, many female birds go through this physiological change as their body prepares for the rigors of producing eggs and caring for offspring. To counteract this, we made the following changes. We lowered the fat content in Sam's diet and increased her exercise. We limited her time at the store on busy weekends, and educated our customers about the effects of their interactions with her.

Because of these changes, we have been able to greatly reduce the risks of over-reproductivity for her. Her mother (the hen that produced her) actually died due to reproductive health problems including egg yolk peritonitis, so we have been very aware of potential problems with Sam. Since gaining a better understanding of how we can help her, she has become a much happier, more playful bird - especially at home. Since Sam also finds Terry very stimulating, his interactions with her are limited to just hanging out (ambient attention), instructional play, and limited scratching of her head. The more of these types of interactions she gets, the more she prefers it. She is definitely seems more content than she used to be.

"He loves to play on top of his cage and patrol the area. He gets so intense that if we try to take him down from the top of the cage he will bite us."

Isn't this parrot doing a fantastic job protecting his perceived nest and the territory surrounding it? There he is on top of his cage, defending his perceived nest (the inside of his cage) for all he is worth. In the wild, the defense of the nest is essential to successfully producing and raising offspring. Take a moment to think of a parrot in the wild. Picture him out on a branch a few feet from the nest opening, carefully watching the area around him. Is this behavior any different than what your bird perceives he is doing in your home on top of his cage? Probably not!

It is essential to a parrot's emotional stimulation that they have a play tree or gym away from the cage rather than on top. Male birds may react differently than female birds when they are hormonally driven, but they are certainly not immune to the affects of hormonal toxicosis. With male birds, it often appears that the birds are more aggressive when in reality, they are in a state of extreme confusion and frustration. In our homes, both male and female birds can suffer from hormonal toxicosis. This condition inflames the reproductive system and with no natural form of release, it becomes a key contributor to many serious behavioral and health problems for parrots.

"Our bird loves her little snuggle hut. We could never take it away from her."

When a parrot acts sexual around a "snuggle hut" (sleeping tent), toy, perch, mirror, shredded paper, wooden toys, etc., then these things are triggering reproductive behaviors and should be removed from the cage. This can be determined by your observation. Sexually stimulated behaviors include the bird rubbing on, shredding, regurgitating onto, displaying at, vocalizing to, or being aggressive around the object. Some toys and perches can be perceived mates, a bird can see his reflection in a mirror as a mate, and snuggle huts can often be perceived as a nest cavities. Parrots are truly at their most vulnerable to predators when in the nest so it is almost assuredly our perception rather than the birds that they "need a snuggle hut" to feel safe. I am not telling you that no companion bird should have a snuggle hut. I am saying that it is your job to pay attention to how your bird reacts to the hut and to you.

My Hyacinth Macaw, Mateo, has a certain toy that he particularly favors and at times, perceives as a mate. During the fall and winter months, he can play with this toy and be his usual, gentle self. In the spring and summer, he acts very differently around the toy. He sits very close to it and if anyone tries to remove him from his cage when the toy is there, he will posture. Leaning back and holding his wings slightly away from his body, he rocks back and forth in an attempt to look bigger. If I continue to remove him from the cage, he ultimately may bite. If I remove the toy (perceived mate) first, he will step up and come out without a problem. It makes sense to us to not give him this toy during certain times of the year, and completely avoid this confrontational situation. Watch your bird to determine if anything in the cage or surrounding area is a hormonal trigger for your bird. If it is, remove it until the bird settles down again.

Other birds in the household or even outside can be a trigger for reproductive activity and sometimes the cause of health issues in our parrots. We have two Black Capped Caiques, Scooter (8 year old female) and Skeeter (4 year old male) who have been around each other for four years. Skeeter initially seemed to view Scooter as a parent but as he began to sexually mature (at about 2 years of age) his view of her gradually changed to that of a potential mate. He would pester her when given any opportunity and beg to be scratched or fed, as well as attempt to feed and mate with her. Scooter would rarely get a minute's rest when he was around, yet they really seemed to enjoy being together.

After about a year of this, Scooter began to have occasional seizures, so we took her to our avian veterinarian immediately. The only thing the doctor was able to find that was out of the ordinary was that x-rays showed that Scooter's reproductive tract was enlarged and inflamed. Through observation we were able to determine that Scooter's seizures seemed triggered by her agitated response to Skeeter's advances. By caging them separately and completely apart from each other's view at times, we have been able to keep Scooter seizure-free now for over two years and her reproductive tract has returned to normal size.

As a side note, an additional question that might be asked is: "Why do companion birds seem so easily triggered into a reproductive state?" There are two theories about this.

Theory #1: There are so many reproductive triggers constantly present in our homes, that our companion birds would only have during their breeding season in the wild, usually once a year. They have a perfect temperature, perfect weather, and an unending supply of food (sometimes high fat content foods or sprouts that would only be available before their breeding seasons). Their lighting cycle or photoperiod in our homes is very different than the yearly changes in length and angulations of sunlight that occur in the wild. Many parrots also have both a perceived mate (human or otherwise) and well as an available nest site. What else could they need?

Theory #2: Over the last 30+ years of breeding parrots, most breeders naturally chose pairs of birds that proved to be the most successful, productive parents. This would eventually genetically select for offspring that would become easier and easier to trigger into reproduction. The most obvious example of this is the cockatiel. Many of you probably realize that it is now more difficult to prevent excessive egg laying and breeding behaviors in cockatiels than it is to get them to start!

"She has always loved us, but one day out of nowhere, she became such a mean bird. I don't know how much longer we can take this!"

Of course, no behavior comes upon us out of nowhere. If we pay attention to our bird's behaviors, no matter how slight, we will clearly be able to identify changes in their hormonal behavior and work towards diminishing sexual related behaviors.

Sally Blanchard's term Nurturing Guidance has paved the way for parrot owners to understand the importance of trust building interactions. Nurturing Guidance is a way to interact with our parrots in a trust-building manner so that we can gently guide them along to become well-socialized, independent, and confident birds.

I use my term, Guided Leadership, much the same way. I do not mean that we need to rule or dominate our parrots, but to guide them towards proper interactions by teaching them proper ways to interact with us. A flock leader would behave this way. Flock Leaders are the birds the others trust and follow. They are the ones to lead the flock safely to eat, drink, bathe, play, and roost. This is not to say that their leadership role may not be tested from time to time, as ours will be, but we as they must maintain this role for our birds to feel safe and view us consistently as leaders. As flock leaders, we must teach our birds what we are doing from one moment to the next. It is important for our birds to develop a routine that gives them a basic idea of what to expect. However, this routine should be altered from time to time, so that the birds are flexible and secure enough to deal with change. Our birds travel to and from Parrot Island with us on a regular basis and have been taught to not only be okay with change but to actually enjoy it.